DELETED

Big_ChanBig_Chan 5,088 Posts
edited November 2021 in Strut Central
DELETED

  Comments


  • hang in there dude! i'm going on 6 years in july.
    peace, stein. . .

  • Chan, you're about to "find" hell of extra money! Good luck, man. Healthy choices.

  • DeegreezDeegreez 804 Posts
    Drink a lot of water, all that fatigue and shittyness is crap coming out of your liver and into your blood so drink water to get it moving out. And Vitamin C helps that too and will boost your energy.
    You will get over the hump and realize alcohol is the devils pie.

    ... and that you don't want to be spending all that money.

  • FrankFrank 2,370 Posts
    hmmm... growing older, I more and more realize the negative side efects of regular alcohol sonsumption but I still feel that the soothing it gives me when I'm too tense and the good times alcohol lets me have are all worth it. I'm also kinda the oposite to those people who turn into assholes when drunk, I turn into an asshole when sober. Everytime my wife feels, I'm misbehaving she's "hey, can I get you a nice cold beer?"

    Alcohol makes me a better person. Maybe I should try yoga.

  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts
    lol... my buddy once said, "I'm not a mean drunk... I'm a mean sober!"

    Good luck Chan, it's worth the fight. Sober dial me if you need to be entertained!

  • AKallDayAKallDay 830 Posts
    do things which naturally increase levels of dopamine and endorphins like exercise and sex, very serious, because withdrawal symptoms are a temporary situation and they will be reduced with the help of those naturally occurring pain relievers, natural corticosteroids that the body produces... it will help calm your nervous system and help you get through the craving and discomfort.

    not drinking heavily is awesome. good luck.

  • ElectrodeElectrode Los Angeles 3,080 Posts
    I'm somewhere between a goofy but harmless drunk and a tired / borderline nauseous drunk...That is, only the times I consume hard liquor, which I do rarely since the novelty of being able to buy liquor wore off a few years ago. I love beer though. It's self-regulating because I do a decent share of manual labor at work and walking in general which keeps the gut in check. I try not to overdo it. Drink a lot of water, which you should do regardless. Whenever I need or want to go a while without alcohol, or herb for that matter, I try to do as much sweating and water guzzling as possible. Like you're desperately trying to pass a pre-employment urine test. It's funny, from my personal experience at least, that it gets boring being buzzed during your leisure time and feeling sober becomes desirable. Try to keep your mind occupied with stuff that you wouldn't do as well with or enjoy drunk: Chess, reading - whatever. Good luck.

  • BrianBrian 7,618 Posts
    I'm with you Chan. My plan for the summer is to wake up at 6, go jogging, make lunch, go to class, and then work. Drinking doesn't fit in with that shit AT ALL and saving money is always good.

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    I quit drinking 10 days ago. I feel both great and terrible after 10 days of no alcohol. Feeling better every day though. Don't know how long I'm going to stay on the wagon in detox mode. I can't remember the last time I went this long without drinking. Any of you folls have any similar stories and or advice? Quitting cold turkey after lots heavy drinking was a little crazy.

    When you say withdrawal. What do you mean? Are you having physical symptoms?

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    I'm an Alcoholic.

  • Big_ChanBig_Chan 5,088 Posts
    DELETED

  • twoplytwoply Only Built 4 Manzanita Links 2,914 Posts
    I don't really know you, dude, but I'm glad to hear you're doing this. One of my best friends is an alcoholic in denial and I'm watching him fall through the cracks right now. I know quitting isn't an easy thing to do (I've never been a heavyweight drinker, and even I had a hard time cutting down), but it's definitely a good thing to do.
    When you feel tempted to have a drink, try to focus on the fact that you're a non-drinker now. Cement that in your mind as being an irreversible personal trait. At least, that's what's kept me from relapsing when I quit smoking.

    Good luck!

  • empanadamnempanadamn 1,462 Posts
    i try to detox every now and again. it feels good to go without drinking and feeling in complete control. good luck!

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    I quit drinking 10 days ago. I feel both great and terrible after 10 days of no alcohol. Feeling better every day though. Don't know how long I'm going to stay on the wagon in detox mode. I can't remember the last time I went this long without drinking. Any of you folls have any similar stories and or advice? Quitting cold turkey after lots heavy drinking was a little crazy.

    When you say withdrawal. What do you mean? Are you having physical symptoms?


    Yes sir. No shakes or hallucinations, but mad fatigued and headaches. I experienced a lot of nausea the first few days and could not eat much. It was kind of hard to keep from having a few drinks because I knew I would feel better if I started drinking.

    If you have physical withdrawal and have likely developed tolerance over time, then you may be dependent. This is serious and probably has psychological roots. I'm not saying you are crazy, just speaking from epidemiological data. What we call comorbidity or co-occurring is widely accepted as the rule rather than the exception. For example, the most common comorbid diagnosis for men is depression. "Drink your bad feelings away". Anxiety is also very common. "Drink to not feel nervous--especially in social situations."

    At some point your neural pathways expect help from alcohol to overcome behavioral challenges. The tricky thing is that it works fine for a good while, but the tolerance inevitably catches up and you find yourself consuming almost toxic amounts to relieve the psychological stuff (and party). That's when you need to stop. And when you do, the withdrawal is the final wake up call. You're officially an alcoholic. That's not such bad thing though. A lot of people believe that alcoholism is a chronic disease that has to be managed like diabetes or MS. I disagree, because in a lot of cases, it can be cured.

    This can start by looking carefully at why you drink too much. Or why you love the buzz of alcohol. I mean everybody likes it, but you LOVE it. Why? What are you getting away from? Clearly, this is something that needs to worked out in therapy. Not that pipe smoking Freudian psychoanalytic nonsense, but practical goal oriented assessment followed by brief cognitive behavior therapy. That just means thinking critically about your behavior as you move towards changing patterns that cause problems.

    One more thing: Repeated cycles of withdrawal are dangerous. When you experience withdrawal and have headaches, your brain is possibly having mini-seizures that get worse over time and can cause very serious brain damage. (Just google ???brain seizure from withdrawal alcohol???, also in neuroscience we call this ???kindling???)

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    ^^^^^^that is not directed at Big Chan, but to anyone with similar challenges.

  • ZEN2ZEN2 1,540 Posts
    How much were you drinking? I'm curious to know how much it takes to have physical withdrawals.

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    How much were you drinking? I'm curious to know how much it takes to have physical withdrawals.

    It's not that simple.

  • hcrinkhcrink 8,729 Posts
    How much were you drinking? I'm curious to know how much it takes to have physical withdrawals.

    It's not that simple.

    It sure isn't. I can never even remember how much I've had.

  • ZEN2ZEN2 1,540 Posts
    How much were you drinking? I'm curious to know how much it takes to have physical withdrawals.

    It's not that simple.

    Surely there has to be some quantifiable combination of amount, frequency, and body weight that would lead to withdrawal symptoms.

  • DjArcadianDjArcadian 3,630 Posts
    How much were you drinking? I'm curious to know how much it takes to have physical withdrawals.

    It's not that simple.

    Surely there has to be some quantifiable combination of amount, frequency, and body weight that would lead to withdrawal symptoms.

    If everyone was exactly the same then there would be.

  • covecove 1,566 Posts
    I went 5.5 days last week.

    It was surprisingly tough. Went through some ups and downs.
    Had to DJ one night sober, it was trying. 5 Pints of soda water later, i wasn't feeling it. I then asked my partner if I could leave an hour before the club closed.

    I was also smoking more often. I tend to not smoke much unless I'm drinking...but during the time off I found myself smoking cigs in the morning and shit....eck.
    Weed intake definitely climbed.

    I'm glad I toughed through a couple days, but it's not really for me.

  • selperfugeselperfuge 1,165 Posts
    hey chan
    i dont know you but good luck
    please report back with a positive story

    i am not a marathon drinker but for about the last six months a six pack a night or a couple pints is mandatory. sometimes i get headaches at 4pm and its starting to freak me out.

    ** edit. just so you don't think i'm trolling, i just came back to this thread to read my confession, then read that good medical type post before all the way through. i don't think i'm having any mini-seizures but the possibility of dependency for someone who has never been much of a drinker and isnt particularly depressed is scary.

  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,885 Posts
    I used to put a few away every night with dinner (2-3 beers and a glass of wine perhaps), but as I was always taking regular exercise, I didn't think it'd do me any harm.

    Wrong.

    I keeled over on a weekend away, just passed out on the tram (on the way to a big night out). Blood tests revealed impaired liver function. I decided then that I'd quit drinking in the week and it's took over 2 years to get rid of the slightly dizzy/nauseous sensation that I had permanently before.

    Now I might get through a few bottles on a Fri/Sat night, not "Drunk" but just chilled. I am in good shape and love a drink but it seems to agree with me less and less.
Sign In or Register to comment.